21st Century Writers - Ecuadorian Literature

Germán Rodas Chaves

Germán Rodas Chaves is an Ecuadorian historian, writer, university professor, and a leader of the Ecuadorian socialist party. He has authored and co-authored multiple books, research studies, and articles on Ecuadorian and Latin American history, politics, medicine and health. Among his books are: “La izquierda ecuatoriana en el siglo 20” [The Ecuadorian Left in the 20th Century] (2000), “Fidel en el Ecuador: a propósito de la visita de Fidel Castro a Guayaquil en 1971” [Fidel in Ecuador: About Fidel Castro’s Visit to Guayaquil in 1971] (2001), and “Eloy Alfaro y Cuba en el siglo XIX” [Eloy Alfaro and Cuba in the 19th Century] (2013). In 2012, the Quito Municipality honored Rodas with the “Isabel Tobar Guarderas” Award for a book he co-authored and edited entitled “Revolución Juliana y salud colectiva” [The Juliana Revolution and Public Health] in recognition as the best book of the year in the social sciences field. In 2021 he published his latest book “Pandemias y enfermedades en la historia del Ecuador, siglos XVIII-XXI” [Pandemics and Diseases in Ecuador’s History, 19th-20th Centuries]. He is a member of Ecuador’s National Academy of History and of the Association of Historians of Latin America and the Caribbean (ADHILAC).

ben aki

ben aki, pseudonym of Rodrigo Jurado (Ambato, Ecuador, 1967) is an Ecuadorian poet, writer, and university professor. He has published 7 poetry collections, including: “Tesis” (2006), “Telares” (2014), “Cartas desde la cárcel” (2015), “Inicios absolutos” (2016), “Querido señor presidente” (2017), “La piel que habito” (2018), and “Poemas para la tarde y el después” (2019). In 2021, ben aki published a biographical novel about his maternal grandmother, María Agripina Cruz Torres, entitled, “María Agripina.” He currently resides in Ambato where he is Professor of Communication and Academic Writing at the Catholic University of Ecuador.

Gustavo Abad Ordoñez

Gustavo Abad Ordoñez (Loja, 1968) is an Ecuadorian journalist, essayist, editor, and university professor. His articles have been published in numerous newspapers, including El Comercio, HOY, El Universo and El Telégrafo. His scholarly and journalistic books include: “El monstruo es el otro: La narrativa social del miedo en Quito” (2005), “Medios y movilidad humana. Pautas para informar sobre hechos migratorios” (2009), “El club de la pelea: Gobierno y medios, un entramado de fuerzas y debilidades” (2011), “Ecuavoley: La ovación voluntaria” (2011). He teaches at the Faculty of Social Communication (FACSO) at the Central University of Ecuador. He worked as an editor for the magazines Chasqui and Textos y contextos. In 2022 his book “Crónica de multitudes. La dimensión carnal de la escritura” (2021) was bestowed the “Isabel Tobar Guarderas” Award by the Municipality of Quito.

Purita Pelayo

Purita Valentina Pelayo, also known by the pseudonym Alberto Cabral (Esmeraldas, March 24, 1957) is an Ecuadorian transgender activist and author. She was one of the founders and the president of the Coccinelle Association, the first organization of transgender people in the history of Ecuador, which played a leading role in the campaign for the decriminalization of homosexuality in the country, which achieved its goal in November 1997. She is also the author of the award-winning non-fiction work “Los fantasmas se cabrearón” (2017), which recounts police abuse and the birth of LGBT activism in Ecuador at the end of the 20th century.

Juana Neira Malo

Juana Neira Malo (Cuenca, May 29, 1963) is an Ecuadorian author of children’s literature. In 2008 she published her first book, “Mi amiga secreta.” In 2009, her second book “Se necesita a un súper héroe,” won the “Darío Guevara Mayorga” Prize. She was president of Girándula, the Ecuadorian Book Association for Children and Young People, a branch of IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) in Ecuador. She produced and hosted a literary radio program, Sueños de papel, from 2006 to 2018. The program contributed to the country’s culture by highlighting several contemporary Ecuadorian authors and focusing on children’s and youth literature. In August of 2020 it was announced that she was the new director of the “José de la Cuadra” National Plan for the Promotion of Books and Reading.

Victoria Tobar

Victoria Tobar Fierro (Ambato, 1943) is an Ecuadorian poet, writer, and literary critic. In 1983 her first poetry book, “Y de repente” was bestowed the “Juan León Mera” award by the municipality of Ambato. She has written 5 poetry books and her poems have been selected for inclusion in various anthologies of Ecuadorian and Latin American poetry. In 2020 a compilation of her poems was published in a book entitled “Inmensos sentidos” by the publisher El ángel editor.

Íñigo Salvador

Íñigo Salvador Crespo (Quito, October 23, 1960) is a novelist, lawyer, public official, diplomat, and university professor. His debut novel “Miércoles Santo: un caso de Nuño Olmos” (2013), is a critically acclaimed detective novel set in Quito. His latest novel, “1822: La novela de la independencia,” won the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize in 2022, and was that year’s best-selling novel in Ecuador. He served as the Procurator General of Ecuador (PGE) from 2018-2022, and will serve as a judge in the Andean Community Court of Justice.

Jorge Vargas Chavarría

Jorge Vargas Chavarría (Guayaquil, 1992) is an Ecuadorian writer, teacher, and chemical engineer. He has authored three short story collections, “Aquí empieza lo extraño” (2016), “Las cosas que no decimos” (2018), and “Una boca sin dientes” (2022), which won the Joaquín Gallegos Lara Prize.

Margarita Dager-Uscocovich

Margarita Dager-Uscocovich (Guayaquil, October 31, 1967) is an Ecuadorian fiction writer, poet, and columnist. Her debut novel, “No es tiempo de morir” was published in Spanish in 2018 and in English in 2019. Her second novel “Las queremos vivas” (2021), deals with the global trafficking of women, and has Guayaquil and Charlotte, N.C as settings. Her short stories and micro-stories have been published in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay and the United States. Her poems have been published in the online magazine labelmelatina.com. She is a columnist for the Destinos section of the online magazine La Nota Latina in Miami, FL and Revista Latina NC. She currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Carmen Inés Perdomo Gutiérrez

Carmen Inés Perdomo Gutiérrez (Esmeraldas, 1973) is an Ecuadorian poet and journalist. She has contributed to magazines and periodicals in Ecuador. She is the author of three poetry collections: “Silencio en llamas” (2005), “Naufragio del Canto” (2008), and “Tempestad en la Floresta” (2013). Her poems have also been included in several national and international poetry anthologies. She obtained third place in the Gabriela Mistral women’s poetry contest. During the 2007–2009 biennium, she held the position of secretary of the Ecuadorian Society of Writers (SEDE).

Edgar Allan García

Edgar Allan García (Guayaquil, December 17, 1958) is an Ecuadorian writer and cultural promoter. He has 74 books to his credit, including short stories, poetry, novels, biography, nonfiction, essays and children’s literature. His works have been published in Ecuador, Spain, Peru, Mexico and Argentina. His book “Leyendas del Ecuador” is read in primary and secondary schools while his young adult novel “El rey del mundo” was chosen as part of Argentina’s national reading program. His poetry and short stories have also been included in several anthologies, and in 2010 he was included in Jaime García Padrino’s “Great Dictionary of Latin American Authors of Children’s and Youth Literature.” He also serves as the director of Ecuador’s José de la Cuadra National Book and Reading Plan. Some of his stories have been translated into French.

Juan Carlos Cucalón

Juan Carlos Cucalón (Guayaquil, 1963) is an Ecuadorian short story writer and playwright. In 2007 he won first place in the Pablo Palacio Short Story Biennial with his story “Miedo a U2” [Fear of U2]. His book of short stories “Surcos obtusos” won the 2009 edition of the Luis Félix López National Literature Contest. Among the themes of the book are homoeroticism and masculinity in Latin America. In 2010, he premiered his play “Exododedosexos,” whose plot follows two transgender women named Malva Malabar and Simoné Bernadette who prepare to stage a play by Tenesse Williams. Cucalón is openly homosexual, and throughout his career he has published numerous stories featuring characters of various sexual orientations.

Gilda Holst

Gilda Holst Molestina (Guayaquil, 1952 – Guayaquil, October 22, 2024) was an Ecuadorian writer and university professor. Known for her use of irony and humor, her works addressed themes of gender inequality and societal norms. She authored three notable short story collections: Más sin nombre que nunca (1989), Turba de signos (1995), and Bumerán (2006), as well as the novel Dar con ella (2000). Her work was included in several anthologies, including Cruel Fictions, Cruel Realities: Short Stories by Latin American Women Writers (1997), edited and translated by Kathy S. Leonard. In 2021, Editorial Cadáver Exquisito released her Obra completa (Complete Works). Holst was also a key figure in Ecuadorian literature, a professor at the Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, and director of its School of Letters.

Maritza Cino

Maritza Cino Alvear (Guayaquil, 1957) is an Ecuadorian poet and university professor. She has published 8 poetry collections and a collection of 23 short stories entitled “Días frívolos” [Frivolous Days]. Her poems have appeared in Latin American and Spanish magazines, as well as U.S.-based online magazines. In addition, some of her poetry has been translated into English, Italian and French. Her latest poetry collection “El temblor de los huertos” [The Tremor of the Orchards] was published in 2022.

Maria Cecilia Corella

Maria Cecilia Corella Ramírez (Daule, September 9, 1967) is an Ecuadorian writer, poet, and cultural promoter. She has authored five books: “Poesías amatorias,” “Poemas Corellanos,” “La voz de los Daulis,” “Versos caminantes,” and “Daulis.” From 1985 to 2015, she was the editor of La Voz de los Daulis, a literary, historical, and cultural magazine. She hosts a local cultural TV show Viernes de Cultura y literatura on DV Daule Vision. She is presently the president of the Corporación Cultural Daule, whose cultural event, Sofá Cultural, aims to promote Daule’s literature, dance, music, and other local art forms. She is a member of the World Hispanic Union of Writers and the Union of Writers and Artists of Tarija.